Waiting On Wednesday ...... Kissing In America

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My pick this week is Kissing In America by Margo Rabb

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

I loved romances because when you opened the first page, you knew the story would end well. Your heart wouldn't be broken. I loved that security, that guaranteed love.

In real life, you never knew the ending. I hated that.

Sixteen-year-old Eva has never been in love. But when she meets Will, everything changes. With him, her grief over her father's death fades, and she can escape from her difficult relationship with her mother. Then, without any warning, Will picks up and moves to California. So Eva—with the help of her best friend, Annie—concocts a plan to travel across the country to see him again. As they leave New York City for the first time and road-trip across America, they encounter cowboys, kudzu, and tiny towns without stoplights. Along the way, Eva and Annie learn the truth about love and all its complexities.

So, it's a long wait for this one as it doesn't come out until May of next year, but I am intrigued. The cover immediately caught my eye but it's the synopsis that made me add it to my 'to be read' list. I am sucker for road trip books, and this one sounds like a perfect blend of fun and some more serious stuff too. Plus based on that title you know there has to be some kissing!

Expected release date - May 26, 2015

Sublime by Christina Lauren

Sublime by Christina Lauren

Release Date - October 14, 2014

Publisher Website - Simon and Schuster
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 336 pages
My Rating - 2/5
**received in exchange for an honest review**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

True love may mean certain death in a ghostly affair of risk and passion from New York Times bestselling duo Christina Lauren, authors of Beautiful Bastard. Tahereh Mafi, New York Times bestselling author of Shatter Me calls Sublime “a beautiful, haunting read".

When Lucy walks out of a frozen forest, wearing only a silk dress and sandals, she isn’t sure how she got there. But when she sees Colin, she knows for sure that she’s here for him.

Colin has never been captivated by a girl the way he is by Lucy. With each passing day their lives intertwine, and even as Lucy begins to remember more of her life—and her death—neither of them is willing to give up what they have, no matter how impossible it is. And when Colin finds a way to physically be with Lucy, taking himself to the brink of death where his reality and Lucy’s overlap, the joy of being together for those brief stolen moments drowns out everything in the outside world. But some lines weren’t meant to be crossed…

Take a ghost, add  increasing stakes, and more than a dash of romance and you'd have Sublime. A novel that seemed to have a lot of promising elements. Sadly, this ended up not quite being the book for me.

The novel's writing was suitable for this genre. I believe that these two authors have written romance novels before, and it shows. If you are a fan of romance novels in general, you'll certainly find plenty of it within these pages. The paranormal element does, somewhat, suffer as a result however. There is less time spent on building this element and more focus on the romance. Sadly, I wanted more of one and less of the other.

The romance is meant to be transcendent. From the moment Lucy declares to Colin that she's there 'for him' the reader is supposed to want them to work. However, I never understood the why. I didn't understand why Colin would become as desperate as he does. Why Lucy would be as determined as she is. What is pulling them together? The novel has hints that it is something bigger at work than Lucy and Colin themselves, and that it might not just be their feelings urging them on. These hints however are, at least to me, never fully explained and expanded upon.

Much is made during the novel of whether Lucy is there for Colin's safety or if she'll be his destruction. The ending answers this question, but a little unsatisfactorily.  Without giving spoilers, the ending is pretty clear on what the outcome is, but again is lacking the why. We still don't know the why behind any of what happened. I can take a few guesses, and while I don't mind having to fill in things as a reader, it felt like an important part of the mythology was missing. In paranormal novels that can be a huge part of the story, particularly in this one. So much time is spent theorizing on the why of Lucy; why is she back, what is her purpose. Frustratingly we do not get answers.

A story that, unfortunately, despite some intriguing parts fell felt for me. I wanted to be swept away into this impossible, forbidden romance, and instead I was left with more questions than answers. I do urge you to check out some more positive reviews before deciding if this is a book you would enjoy. Sadly, it wasn't a book for me.

Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis

Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis

Release Date - October 14, 2014

Publisher Website - Disney - Hyperion
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 336 pages
My Rating - 3.5/5
**received in exchange for an honest review**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Princess Snow is missing.

Her home planet is filled with violence and corruption at the hands of King Matthias and his wife as they attempt to punish her captors. The king will stop at nothing to get his beloved daughter back-but that's assuming she wants to return at all.

Essie has grown used to being cold. Temperatures on the planet Thanda are always sub-zero, and she fills her days with coding and repairs for the seven loyal drones that run the local mines.

When a mysterious young man named Dane crash-lands near her home, Essie agrees to help the pilot repair his ship. But soon she realizes that Dane's arrival was far from accidental, and she's pulled into the heart of a war she's risked everything to avoid.

In her enthralling debut, R.C. Lewis weaves the tale of a princess on the run from painful secrets . . . and a poisonous queen. With the galaxy's future-and her own-in jeopardy, Essie must choose who to trust in a fiery fight for survival.

Fairytale retellings are some of my favourite books to read. I especially like anything that takes a fairytale and twists it into something completely new and different. With Stitching Snow, RC Lewis has offered up a quirky, fun take on the classic tale. It's a story that, sadly, didn't garner a strong reaction either way for me while reading. I didn't feel myself fully pulled into the story, but it was a pleasant, quick read.

Essie is not your typical Snow White. She cage fights, tinkers with machines, and is able to create computer code with little effort. She, for all appearances, has a tough exterior that sends a clear message for other to not mess with her. Underneath is a different story. She's still that scared girl who ran away from the palace. Seeing Essie change, and evolve throughout the novel should have been the main focus. She does, arguably, have the most development of the three characters, but I am hesitant a to whether it's all earned.

There is a unique twist to the seven dwarfs that was, by far, my favourite part to the novel. They felt organic to the world that has been created, and tied the main character to the world at the same time. You come to care about these drones, and their personalities really pop off the pages.

The later half of the novel is not as strong as the first half. The ending felt rushed, and the romance felt like it did not have time to develop properly. It worked up until that point, but did not quite come together in the end. The Snow White parallels ended up feeling like a checklist towards the end, rather than a natural, integral part to the story.

The 'evil' Queen and the poisoned apple was another delightful nod. It was done in a clever, and realistic way that, again, felt like it belonged within this world. I wished we had gotten some more characterization of the Queen and Essie's father, but they remained pretty surface level characters.

This novel worked best when going outside fairytale tropes. Sadly, it also utilized them frequently. The romance was quick and easy like in most fairytales. The villains are caricatures with little to no development. It could be overlooked as a nod to the original, but I wanted more. I wanted this novel to break some of those usual ideas. It did this very well in the beginning, and I desperately wanted it to continue.

A fun, if predictable, retelling of the Snow White tale. Overall, it's an enjoyable read that perhaps feels a little too reminiscent of other retellings. Those who are hardcore Snow White fans will delight in the nods and that makes it worth the read.

New To My Book Closet

It's that time of the week again. Time to show you what bookish goodies made their way into my home and book closet (to be saved from the evil book eating cat monster named Aria). This is inspired by the various "mailbox" posts out there (eg. In My Mailbox by The Story Siren, and Stacking the Shelves by Tynga's Reviews).

Another week, and more books made their way into my mailbox. 

First up is a purchased finished copy of a book I adored, and the second is a surprise book!

Famous In Love by Rebecca Serle (goodreads)
In Real Life by Cory Doctorow and Jen Wang (goodreads)

I loved Famous In Love. So much so that I have a week dedicated to all things Famous In Love and Hollywood coming up VERY soon.

The other book is actually a graphic novel that was a total surprise. It looks cute though, and I am definitely curious about it.

What books made their way into your mailbox this week?

Happy weekend, and happy reading!

Weekly Obsessions

The awesome Kelly at KellyVision started posting a weekly post highlighting whatever she happened to be obsessed with that week. I LOVE this idea, so much in fact that I will be doing it myself every Saturday.

BOOK

Cover for Kissing In America by Margo Rabb (goodreads)

This is such a fun cover. It brings to mind a road trip across the USA. It's also a trend with at least two other novels have a similar theme. This one has a great synopsis to go along with this cover, and I am excited to read it.

Cover for Proof Of Forever by Lexa Hillyer (goodreads)

I was immediately drawn to the infinity symbol on the cover. The use of photos to create it is also a fun touch. It's very summer-y which seems to fit the synopsis perfectly. Another book I am very excited about reading next year.

Cover for Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhoinelle Clayton (goodreads)

This cover captures the ballerina elements of the story as well as the dark elements as well. Based on what is currently known it sounds like it could be another Pretty Little Liars and that makes me very excited. I am  hoping for lots of twists and turns.

TV/MOVIE

The Affair 

This ended up being my favourite TV debut of this season. It has a really unique way of unraveling the story by showing the (sometimes glaring) differences in two sides of the same story. We're told two different versions of the same events through the eyes of people who remember them quite different. Is anyone lying, or is this just how they remember it? The show will hopefully answer that as it spins it's mystery. The cast is superb and I urge everyone to check it out.

How To Get Away With Murder

This weeks episode was the best episode of the entire season. This is a splashy, buzz worthy show filled with some incredible twists and reveals. However, the quiet moment this episode featured was just as stunning. Viola Davis is doing incredible work, and Jack Falahee is quickly becoming my favourite on the show. His performance this week was a stand out.

What are you obsessed with this week?

Follow Friday

Follow Friday is a weekly meme hosted Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. It's a great way to meet new blogger friends.

This weeks question is: 

Share the song you can't stop listening to

Right now it's all about Out Of The Woods by Taylor Swift. It's on permanent reply here right now.

Happy Weekend!

My True Love Gave To Me by Various

My True Love Gave To Me by Various

Release Date - October 14, 2014

Publisher Website - St. Martin's Press/Raincoast
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 320 pages
My Rating - 4/5
**received in exchange for an honest review**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

If you love holiday stories, holiday movies, made-for-TV-holiday specials, holiday episodes of your favorite sitcoms and, especially, if you love holiday anthologies, you’re going to fall in love with MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME: TWELVE HOLIDAY STORIES by twelve bestselling young adult writers, edited by international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins.

Christmas is my favourite time of year. The months of October through to December are my favourite. The anticipation of the holidays. Getting to see family and friends. The hustle and bustle. There always something a little magical about the first snowfall, too. It makes it seem like anything is possible. This feeling is capture in the form of 12 short stories to create a delectable holiday treat.

Like most collection of short stories, this one is a bit of a mixed bag. There were some I love to pieces, some that weren't for me, and others that I liked well enough. What this collection does really well is offer up variety. It's diverse, and as a result, there will be something for everyone.

I am not going to review each story individually, but I want to talk about a few that really stood out to me.

Midnights by Rainbow Rowell

A story that revolves around see a friendship throughout the years on midnight on New Years Eve. The tension of the 'will they, won't they' friendship combined with the heartbreak as each midnight passes by only makes this story stand out more. The characterization is amazing for short story, and Rainbow Rowell's ability to make you feel something for them in such a short amount of time is staggering. I could easily read an entire novel of Noel and Mags and their adorableness. This one floored me and was a strong way to start out the collection.

Polaris Is Where You'll Find Me by Jenny Han

Super cute and unique. Elves can be sexy, who knew?! I was enjoy things and starting to totally fall for Natalie and Flynn's connection when THE STORY JUST ENDS. This is one that I think could be a full length novel because it felt like a sample. It read like a teaser that gets released to create buzz for a book. It didn't have a definitive ending but it was fun while it lasted.

It's A Christmas Miracle, Charlie Brown by Stephanie Perkins

The Charlie Brown Christmas special is my second favourite Christmas cartoon (after Rudolph) and this incredibly sweet story takes quite a bit of inspiration from that heartwarming tale. It's a story that shows there can be beauty in the most unexpected places, and that a little TLC can go along way. The romance was cute without being too much and was filled with those little moments Stephanie Perkins is known for.

What The Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth? by Gayle Forman

Gayle Forman has a talent for creating stories where it seems like the characters are fated to meet. From the moment a Ned Flanders references causes Russell and Sophie's paths to cross, it feels meant to be. They have an ease and connection that is immediate. A story of perception, it shows that judging someone by what you see may not be giving you the whole picture, and that sometimes finding someone you can be yourself with is the best part of the holidays.

Welcome to Christmas, CA by Kiersten White

Here is where I admit that this one took me by surprise. It light and fluffy and filled with yummy sounding food. It's exactly what you want out of a feel good holiday special complete with sigh inducing romance. It was a fun, all around happy making read that left me with a craving for cookies.

There is a mixture of holidays included so it's a perfect read for anything you might be celebrating. It's a strong batch of short stories that I think will go nicely with the upcoming holiday season.

A novel that is cozy warm blankets, perfect hot chocolate, and softly falling snow all wrapped up in a delightfully diverse package. If you're the type that curls up to watch holiday specials you will not want to miss this collection. It truly does have something for everyone, and will put you in the holiday spirit.